HTPC Upgrade – Latest in low power?

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  • July 24, 2011 at 9:47 pm #26170
    techlifeweb

      When you get out of the hardware market for any length of time all the latest names, numbers and buzzwords make your head spin. So I thought I’d start my research here.

      I built my HTPC a couple years ago. It is based around Windows 7 Media Center. I’ve got a Zotac IONITX-F-E motherboard. This is an Atom 330 ITX board with Nvidia ION graphics. I have an internal Hauppauge 2250 and also an HD-PVR.

      Actually most everything plays pretty well on this box. Even Blu-rays work pretty well. I still use toslink for audio because my receiver doesn’t support HDMI.

      Where you really see problems is Netflix HD or just about anything Silverlight based (like MSN Video). The specs are just on the edge and you end up with stutter.

      One main reason I chose this build at the time was keeping power consumption low. So my question for you all is, what would you recommend a an upgrade? I’d basically like to swap out the ITX motherboard (and RAM if necessary, it is currently DDR2) but keep power consumption low. I like Nvidia because I use Nevcairiel’s decoders but I’d consider alternatives.

      July 24, 2011 at 10:06 pm #30780
      mikinho

        You can still use LAV Filters with non-VIDIA GPUs, I now use LAV Filters on all my systems since Andrew (babgvant) introduced me to them.  For low-power it is hard to beat Intel H61H67 + Sandy Bridge low-power (e.g. Core i3-2100T or similar) CPU using the on-board video.

        July 25, 2011 at 2:50 am #30784
        techlifeweb

          Thanks, I’ll look into that hardware. 

          Yes, I use LAV filters everywhere. Was talking about Nev’s CUDA video decoder. http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=160290 Though it looks like he’s developing another Video decoder for other hardware too.

          July 25, 2011 at 3:51 am #30787
          mikinho

            I meant that to read “Well at least you can still use the LAV filters…” versus the decoder 🙂

            July 25, 2011 at 12:15 pm #30791
            swoon

              I agree with Michael’s suggestion. You could also go with the Sandy Bridge-based Pentiums which will feel amazingly powerful compared to your Atom. By end of Sept. we should see the sub-$50 G530T or if you want to buy now, you can get a G620/G620T.

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